Leviathan's King (The Search for the Brights Book 3)

by Aaron Thomas

  Ray had a fire imbuement of his own and knew any minor heat would not bother him. Although, he still needed to protect the others around him. Quickly, Ray pushed his ability with the fire element as far as he could, reaching to control the fire around. When he opened his eyes, he could see a few sparks start snapping off the man’s shoulders.

  “Control your anger, be passionate about learning. Learn to fight with fire or die where you stand!” Ray shouted.

  Ray stared at the man’s eyes and knew his words were not working, “Use your fire to help this city. Use the magic to save the realm and your family!”

  Ray waited as the man’s eyes flickered between Ray’s own. The heat faded and the sparks stopped. The man breathed in, and a small mischievous smile met his face.

  “What is it you are passionate about, son?” Ray asked.

  “My family has lived the last year under Atmos’ reign, I have a chance to help stop him. I will do everything in my strength to see his rule ended,” The man said with a conviction that showed Ray the flames were burning inside his spirit.

  Ray gave a nod of his head and lowered the point of his sword. Releasing the man's shirt with his other hand, he took a step back. A short talk with the next man made it easier to find his passion. He knew with only two down, he would have many more armor awakenings before the fight. Ray strongly hoped that he would be able to help them find their passion before they hurt someone. Many a man had lost his will to fight after losing their friends to a misguided passion.

  The wind imbuements were easier than the fire, leaving no effect on the men to the untrained eye. Ray saw it, though, bubbling beneath the surface. The men itched to walk away or resist their most impulsive thoughts. Keeping them on task would be a job that needed doing at every waking hour.

  With all the imbuements awakened Ray walked up the steps again to stand beside the wizard, “Your lessons for today will consist of only one thing: find the magic. Each of you will sit here until you are able to see using the magic vision of your element. Sit, close your eyes, and look for the magic in the world around you. I will be unable to teach you until you can see your wielded element.”

  “Captain,” Ray called out. “You will have men posted here to make sure the wind wielders do not wander off. They will pretend to be the first one’s to complete the task. The two need to remain here until the rest have completed the task.”

  The captain began assigning men to guard the wielders as Ray started to walk away.

  “Commander,” A voice called.

  He turned to see the earth wizard looking at him.

  “How did you teach them to control fire so easily?” Ria asked.

  Ray grunted and walked up to the wizard as one of the wind wielders tried to walk away. He watched as the now posted guards put him in his place.

  “You wizards fear man thinking they are irrational and unable to handle what you can. You think yourself wise because you live longer than us. Being a man gives you a certain perspective; life is precious no matter how short or uneventful. Finding the passion of a man isn’t difficult, it is much like leading a country, in a way. Find out what they are willing to die for, help them achieve their goals and they will help you with yours. It’s something I learned when I was king. It’s also something you won't be able to find in those dusty books of yours.

  “I need you to help me teach these men magic so that I can save this city and this realm. Stop looking at me as though I’m a demon and help the realm become something I could not make it,” He said.

  Ria slowly nodded her head and started to open her mouth, but Ray held up a hand.

  “Do your job, council the queen, and teach these men to defend themselves. I will do what I can to make sure they know the pointy end of the spear from the other.”

  Ray turned and stomped away, waving a nervous looking captain to follow him. “You said we have new soldiers coming in the city? Let’s see what they are made of.”

  Chapter 12 - A Wager

  The road seemed to be the same to Kilen, day after day the same thing. Find a small town and talk to its people, then move on. The only success he seemed to have was that they managed to stay on the road each day. At the pace they traveled, being on the road was hardly considered a success. Through the trudging pace, he knew he had become too accustomed to riding Max.

  Brent looked behind himself for the fourth time since breakfast, “I think it’s time we stop for a break, Majesty.”

  “Very well,” Kilen said as he slowed his beast of a horse to a stop, the only slower pace that could be achieved.

  He swung his foot over the saddle and moved to the edge of the trail as Leroy led his horse away. He listened to the others preparing meals and working in silence. Every time they stopped, horses were watered and fed, wagons were mended, and Erica and Leroy looked after the wizards. Kilen was not allowed to help where he could, every job was taken from him because he was king and he was tired of it. He couldn’t stand to watch people work around him without joining in to help. It was the way he was raised and wanted to have a part of himself remain a farm boy.

  He decided he’d had enough and walked away from the trail into a lightly wooded copse of trees where he could be alone.

  Brent shouted, “Your Majesty? Where are you going?”

  Kilen stopped but did not turn around, “I need a moment to myself.”

  “I cannot allow you to go wandering by yourself. Your wife would not forgive me if I let harm fall upon you. Please, allow me to accompany you?” Brent asked.

  Kilen turned around, knowing the man would not leave his sight as long as he was alone, but he was never alone. He searched his mind and found the Crying Man still deep inside trying to escape. Moving freely in the area Kilen saw his elemental friends, a moment alone to talk to them was what he really wanted.

  Opening his eyes after pushing the Crying Man back into his place, Kilen looked up to see Paul jumping about on the back of a wagon. He was pointing at something in the water on the opposite side of the trail. It didn’t matter what the man was excited to see. Kilen smiled, knowing that had made the man happy for a least one moment in the last thirty years.

  “I will take Paul with me,” Kilen said.

  Brent nearly gasped at the mention of the name, “You cannot be serious, Sire. We are still unsure if the man is sane. I am leaning towards him not being. Consider taking Master Bradly along.”

  “You are lucky I am considering taking anyone with me. It’s Paul, or no one, Councilman,” Kilen replied as he took a couple more steps.

  He heard Brent's robe rushing away in the direction Paul was last seen. Kilen smiled and squatted where he was. He didn’t like giving orders and ultimatums like that, but with each passing town, he became more skilled in using his newly acquired king status.

  If it wasn’t the speeches or dinner discussions at a noble's house, it was a lengthy dispute in a village. Kilen tried to make his father proud and handled each situation with a hope he could achieve justice for all involved. After all, that’s what being a weapon bearer was all about; justice.

  He heard footsteps and turned to see Paul approaching. The man recently freed from Mrs. Augustine’s Estates had a sack of gold bursting at the seams. Kilen found out that over thirty years stuck in the room, Paul had made a number of goods. He made everything from paintings, rugs, pottery, clothing, and even books. Kilen was surprised at the man’s vast knowledge until he realized it wasn’t just his knowledge. Paul had accumulated memories and the skills of those inside his head.

  Paul was wearing the finest clothes that he could find on the road. Mostly ones consisting of fine silk in bright colors that did not match. He had taken to wearing a thin curved sword inlaid with gold and jewels in the hilt. The noble that sold it to him was in desperate need of coin since his six daughters were soon to be wed and he had no way to split the artwork of a sword between them.

  Paul had also taken to traveling in a covered wagon that he boasted he would
soon paint green. The man, Kilen was also starting to believe actually was crazy, loved everything that was the color of grass. Kilen had seen him run his wagon off the road twice while he was looking at distant trees and shrubs through a looking glass.

  The tall man walked with a back straight and proud as if he was a nobleman. Kilen wasn’t sure if that was the personality of a spirit or his own. He could only assume that it was his own because that was the only way he’d seen him walk.

  Paul gave a flourishing bow, “Your Majesty. I have come at your request.”

  Kilen gave a roll of his eyes before standing, “Come with me. We have to do some talking about our little secret.”

  Kilen walked away and left Paul standing in the tall grass. When Paul started following it was done with a loud murmur about his shoes getting wet on the soggy ground.

  “I know,” Paul said, turning his head slightly to the side. “He helped us escape the gatekeeper, and for now we must trust that he will not lead us to our death.”

  Kilen finished walking to the small copse of trees and used his vision of the wind, finding Jace looking like an apparition floating nearby.

  “Jace, make sure we are not disturbed,” Kilen said.

  The visage nodded it's head and vanished on a wisp of a breeze.

  “Speaking to your spirits, Majesty?” Paul asked as he tried to shake the mud from his new boots.

  “To my elementals, Paul,” Kilen corrected. “When they leave your mind and take on an elemental form you can no longer speak without making a sound.”

  Paul found the trunk of a fallen tree and sat down after brushing it off like a dusty seat.

  “You speak as though you believe your madness isn’t madness,” Paul said confidently. “I have lived with mine for some time. The sooner you accept your madness, the better you will be able to handle it.”

  Kilen approached him, “The sooner I help you understand that you are not mad, the sooner you can help me protect this kingdom.”

  Kilen dug in his shirt and pulled out the chainger holding his father’s rings. He produced a small chain from his pocket and secured one of the rings on it and held it out to Paul.

  “This is my father’s ring. I am lending it to you until you can learn to control earth magic. When you can do that, I will prove to you the voices in your head are real.”

  Kilen looked around and found his friends hiding in the camouflage of nature. Joahna was the heat in the air, Max was the mud on Kilen’s boots, Tokeye, the water that soaked the ground.

  “My friends, reveal yourselves,” Kilen commanded.

  Each of his friends formed themselves of the elements. Max, taking his almost human-like form of rock, earth, and moss. Tokeye formed a crystal man and Joahna formed a small creature of fire that started chewing away at the log Paul was sitting on.

  “I would like you to meet the spirits that use to live in my head. Max, Joahna, and Tokeye,” Kilen said, pointing at each. “I know that you probably won't believe me for a while, but as you learn magic, you will see I cannot control them all. Their abilities all exceed my own as they live inside the very elements.”

  Paul let out a small laugh, “You are mad. In spite of your madness, I will learn to use magic. Magic is something that I have not had the pleasure of learning, and knowledge gives me strength.”

  Kilen tapped his chin, “Hopefully we will both learn a little from one another. For now, Max will teach you to use earth magic. When you are ready to summon your first elemental, you will see that the spirits in your mind are alive and live through you. On that day, you will owe me an apology.”

  “It has been awhile since I visited a pub, but I assume they still have wagers at almost every table. Shall we have a small wager? I will put ten gold on the line that says you will not be able to convince me I am anything other than a madman,” Paul said, pulling ten gold out of his sack.

  Kilen knew from being king, ten gold would be a small amount after taxes were collected. He considered the wager a moment before nodding his head, “I can accept a wager, but gold is not the stakes. I’ll wager that you won't have to return to Mrs. Augustine’s when I fail to convince you.”

  “And if I am convinced?” Paul asked.

  Kilen smiled, “If you are convinced and are able to work with your elementals, you will go find another spirit wizard and teach them. You will show another madman that he is not mad. Do we have a wager?”

  It seemed as though Paul was having an argument inside of his mind. Kilen smiled at the thought of Paul already starting to convince himself that he was not mad. Kilen also knew that Paul didn’t only have to just convince himself, but also the voices inside of him. He held out his hand and waited for Paul to accept.

  It didn’t take long for Paul to take the open hand and shake, sealing their bet. Max squatted before the two men and started teaching Paul about magic. Kilen looked back at the group and noticed Leroy had made a fire and was cooking. Kara stood off to the side of the road as she concentrated on making an elemental.

  Kilen leaned over to the small blazing creature that had nearly eaten through the dead piece of wood. “Joahna, would you go and teach my sister? She needs to be taught before she hurts herself or someone else, and I cannot teach her.”

  Joahna bounced lightly through the grass, trying to avoid setting the entire field ablaze. Eventually, Kilen would have to learn to use magic the way his elementals did. If he didn’t, he would surely be found a fraud. A situation where he would be forced to perform magic and would be unable to with the skill of his friends could seal his fate.

  Opening his book, Kilen flipped through the pages until he found the section that described water magic. He had read the pages over and over again along with the pages on other magics, sword forms, poison, cooking, Elders, and the meaning of being a weapon bearer. He sought refuge in the book that he had created, hoping that he would find some way to convince just a few men to join the army.

  It had taken only five pages of writing before he became frustrated. Considering it took five pages, today was a good day. Again, he became angry that he could not travel as fast as he wanted. He was stuck waiting on the others to keep up, and he worried about what was happening in Deuterium.

  A whisper on the wind caused him to jolt, “Alexander is landing in the camp. I have kept him from your meeting here.”

  “Thank you, Jace,” Kilen replied. “Paul, keep training with Max. A wind wizard has just arrived, and I need to see what information he has for me.”

  Kilen smiled as Paul waved him away while he remained sitting with his eyes closed. Kilen laughed at the sight; a man made of mud teaching a man wearing silk and jeweled armaments. Kilen made his way through the grass to where Kara was sitting and talking to a small flame.

  “Decided to come here yourself and stop showing off your abilities?” Kara asked.

  “Alexander the Councilmen is here, and I thought you may want to hear what he has to say,” Kilen replied, ignoring her sarcastic tone. “I hope he has some good news from the Elders and Leviathan.”

  Kara joined Kilen in walking down the path to where Brent and Alexander had separated themselves.

  “I would very much like to know how Bowie is doing,” Kara said. “I should have gone with him, someone has to keep him in line.”

  “Your place is here, with me. You are the Fire Council, and you need to be with the king. Of course, if you are not up for the job I could give it to Al’tore.” Kilen said, changing the subject off Bowie.

  “No,” Kara replied promptly. “You’re right, I should be here with you. You have a knack for getting in as much trouble as him anyways.”

  Kilen gave a small laugh before Alexander bowed deeply.

  “Your majesty,” He said with a voice full of pomp. “I am very glad I found you.”

  “Was it hard to find us?” Kilen asked.

  “Harder than the voices said it would be, but not more difficult than I have the skill for,” Alexander said, smiling.
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br />   The wizard accepted a bowl of broth and bread from Leroy who passed them out to the council. Alexander seemed to have a difficult time eating with his robes spilling out around his sash. The experienced wizard blew back the folds of cloth with precision as he started eating.

  “I do carry a bit of news,” Alexander said over the food he chewed. “Your trainer, Ray from Idleton, has been assigned to help train the troops at Leviathan. Your wife has named him commander for the time being.”

  Kilen smiled, “If he trains those men half as well as he trained me, we will stand a chance in this fight.”

  “Yes, well. The fight with the Earth Realm is not the one I am concerned about,” Alexander said as he sat down in the middle of the trail.

  “What fight is it that you are concerned with?” Brent asked.

  “The one with the soul wizard of course,” Alexander said as if it was a ridiculous question.

  “Have the Elders found the Dark Army?” Kilen asked excitedly.

  “Not quite,” Alexander replied through his food. “We found where the wizard is collecting souls and has begun gathering their army. I will be sent in as a soul to be taken and encounter this wizard to see if I am able to gather more information.”

  “They are sacrificing you?” Kilen asked.

  “Not sacrificed, boy. They are sending me in to find him. When I find him, I will use my strength to escape,” Alexander said, standing up and puffing out his chest. “After all, I am one of the youngest wind elders, and I have the best chance of escaping. Although the voices aren’t too excited about being the bait.”

  Alexander stepped up close to Kilen and whispered, “The voices call it a sacrifice as well.”

  Alexander smiled as he shoveled a heaping scoop of food into his mouth. He pointed to where Paul was training with Max. “Who is that?”

  Kilen cleared his throat, “That is my new friend, Paul. He is a bit eccentric, but I think he may have some usable talent.”

  Brent sputtered, “Eccentric? He talks to himself, that is a bit more than eccentric.”